


No Time Like the Past

by Tandirra



Series: Old Series Redux [3]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Canon Divergence - Post-Avengers (2012), Friendship, Gen, Loki POV, Sort of? - Freeform, Time Travel, Tony POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-07
Updated: 2017-06-07
Packaged: 2018-11-10 07:48:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11122896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tandirra/pseuds/Tandirra
Summary: After messing with something they shouldn't have, Tony and Loki are flung far into the past. If anything will teach them to not screw with forces they don't understand, a joyless joyride through time would do it.





	1. 1

 

Natasha looked over her laptop at Tony as he entered the room, adjusting the collar of his suit. “What’s the occasion?”

Now checking his cuffs, Tony made a beeline for the bar. “Pepper bribed me into going to this museum gala in her place," he knew better than to complain. He owed Pepper way more than just saving her from some boring company gala. "Said it was good for the company's 'public image'; as if  _ being me  _ isn't enough.” Pouring himself a drink, Tony saw Natasha arch an eyebrow. “Hey, out of the two of us:  _ who’s  _ been running a multi-billion dollar company since they were fresh out of college?”

She rolled her eyes and went back to typing as he dropped ice into a glass and grabbed for a liquor bottle. “Mhmm… You're going by yourself? Sounds tedious.”

“Nah,” swirling the drink, Tony came to sit on the couch, propping his feet up. “I got one guest; and since Pep can't go, I invited Loki.” He heard her pause typing, she gave him a skeptical look, amplified by her bun of hair that bobbed as she tilted her head. “What? You know how much he's been complaining about being bored." Though his actual complaints went something like  _ "the overwhelming tedious nature of humanity" _ followed by some recycled statement Tony had heard a thousand times. "Figure this'll keep him from blowing something up for another week… or turning Thor into a frog like he threatened to do the other day.”

Natasha snickered, “I desperately want to see that, can’t lie.” 

Closing his eyes, Tony leaned back and took slow sips from his drink. The clatter of shoes against the polished floor alerted him to a sudden new presence behind him and Tony smiled. “Speak of the devil.”

“That's…  _ something _ .” There was a hint of shock in Natasha's voice.

“I, as a mythological deity, have been compared enough to that particular biblical figure; especially because that comparison is astoundingly incorrect. I do not need to get it from you too, Stark.” Though distinctly Loki’s drawl, something about it sounded off, almost an octave up. Tony started to turn as Loki hopped over the back of the couch to sit next to him. He double-taked abruptly. A woman, sporting most of Loki’s features and wearing a long, slim black dress stared back at him, a recognizable crooked grin on her face. She tilted her head as he continued to stare. “Anthony, you've been to space, this cannot  _ possibly  _ be the strangest thing you've seen.”

Shaking off his shock, Tony cleared his throat. “It's not-- I mean-- I just… it’s not what I was expecting.” He was suddenly very aware of his own appearance, checking himself in the reflective windows.

“Good;" Loki smirked, clearly pleased. "I have an image of unpredictability to uphold.”

Still looking at Loki, mouth slightly ajar, Natasha piped up. “That's a  _ good  _ look.”

Loki pointed, open palmed, at Natasha. “I know. It's been nearly fifty years, now seems as good a time as ever to bring this one back.” Turning back to Tony, Loki grinned, baring her teeth, strikingly white against her blood red lips. “Will this be a  _ problem  _ _?_ ”

“No! I mean- not to me," getting over the shock, Tony was able to appreciate Loki's increasingly complex ideas of how to make a night a little bit more chaotic. "But some other people might… I have a reputation and this is supposed to help keep my image on the up and up. I don't know if you looking like that…” Tony trailed off weakly, tugging at his tie.

Rolling her gold dusted eyes, Loki scoffed, “ _ Midgardians _ . I am not going to act as some waif hanging upon your arm simply because I do not look as expected." She poked him in the chest with an immaculate nail and Tony heard it  _ click _ against his arc reactor. "Since when do you care about what others think? Don't go soft on me now; I didn't force this team together to turn you into a bunch of weak kneed orderlies.”

Natasha smirked. “Don't tell Fury that; this team is his baby.”

“Bah!" Loki waved a dismissive hand. "Without  _ my help  _ you would still be a bunch of squabbling children, fighting among yourselves. Fury should be  _ thanking  _ me for the service I did for him.” Natasha chuckled as Loki split into a wider grin. They all knew that wasn't going to happen.

Checking the time, Tony sat up. “We should probably get going.” He finished off the drink as Loki stood, brushing dark curls from her face. He frowned at her heels. “Great, make me look even shorter, love it.” He straightened his back, trying his best to minimize the height difference, failing miserably

Loki fixed him with a smug look. “You giving up the argument?” Picking up on his attempts, she straightened to her full height, losing any slouch and leaving Tony even farther behind.

He shrugged, giving in. “At least you're not trying to throw me out a window; the bar’s set pretty low pal. Anyway, you're obviously not going to listen to me.” Tony looked to Natasha. “Don't let anyone break my tower, alright?”

“That's Jarvis’s job.” She closed her laptop. “Have fun, don't do anything too stupid.”

By the time they made it uptown the gala was in full swing. The bouncer barely gave them a second glance as he let them pass. Inside, the pale yellow lighting glittered off of Tony's cuff links and Loki’s jewelry. People milled about, peering at artifacts encased in glass. Music drifted from a dance floor, where couples swayed. Almost immediately, Tony was swarmed by about ten businessmen in suits, waving their cards at him and trying to speak over the others. Holding out his hands, Tony quieted them.“Now now, gentlemen. We have all night and I think we can take our time. There's no need for those cards. He glanced to Loki expectantly, wanting a way out.

Not missing a beat, Loki looped her arm around Tony’s and stepped into the conversation, towering over all of them. “I would like to dance for a bit with my friend here. You wouldn't deny me that,  _ would you  _ ?” Her smile edged on hostile, despite the breathiness of her voice. The businessmen appeared dumbstruck for a moment; staring at Loki with open confusion. Clearly they were not used to being interrupted. Or maybe it was the over six foot literal goddess that caught them off guard. Loki waved a hand at them dismissively, voice going cold. “Run along now.” She bared her teeth. One by one the men slipped their cards back into their jackets and shuffled away. Steering Tony away with supernatural strength, Loki muttered in his ear. “You're welcome.”

“Buncha leeches, would've had me trapped there for the rest of the night.” Tony resisted the urge to look back. “So, we actually gonna dance or what?”

“Are they still staring?” Loki glanced covertly over her shoulder. “Mmm, yes. Well… Not that I doubt your ability to dance but… I do.” Her sarcasm was biting.

“I'm tempted to prove you wrong,” muttering indignantly, Tony spotted the catering table and pointed towards it. “But I'm starved.” Detouring, Tony picked over the catering. He ignored the curious gazes of those around them, unsure if they were for him or the woman who stood practically a head taller than everyone else who exuded delight at the prospect of turning heads but didn't give anyone the honor of being looked at.

It was a power-play Tony could appreciate.

Settling into a seat, Loki crossed her arms. “The whole idea of museums is so strange. Your lives are so short and disparate, so much of your history is lost to time and what you can collect is so often wrong. Yet you show those memories off and pretend you can understand them.” She nodded towards a half destroyed tapestry on the wall opposite them.

Tony smirked, not looking to Loki. “Is this about all the Norse myths? Mad they gave you a snake, a wolf, some dead girl, and an eight legged horse as kids?”

“What?” Loki frowned, sounding genuinely baffled.

“I mean, you don't actually have horse as a kid… _do you_?” Tony popped a mini-quiche into his mouth; he glanced over at the god, skeptically.

Loki gave him a crooked grin and raised her eyebrow.

“Actually never mind." Suddenly blushing, Tony stuffed another mini-quiche in his mouth. "I don't want to know.”

“Your loss.” Still grinning, Loki glanced behind him. “We have more company.” She hooked him again by the arm and pulled him away from another batch of interested parties, effortlessly parting the sea of people.

They slipped into a different part of the museum, filled more with old relics than people, aside from the occasionally security guard and straggling party goer, mostly gone down a bottle of wine. Tony had to admit, Loki was eerily comfortable in this social game. He glanced up at her, lingering on the hardness in her eyes. “How’d you get so good at dodging _those_ kind of people?” He jerked his head back to another pack of businessmen that Loki had dazzled out of pestering.

Loki scoffed, glancing down at him. “I’m a prince, Tony. Asgard has the same ilk, those willing to worm, grovel, do just about anything to get a taste of power. And I mean anything.” She smirked. “You either use them and dispose them or avoid them.”

“Which method do you prefer?”

“In the past? Whichever suit my mood. Now, though, I doubt I’d get much heading my way.” A sour look crossed Loki’s face.

About halfway through their walk, Loki ground abruptly to a halt, jerking Tony back.

“What?” Tony followed Loki’s gaze to one of the many glass cased artifacts. Veering off and releasing Tony, Loki inspected the object through the case. Tony followed close behind. The disk shaped object, about the size of a frisbee, looked to be built of red clay and was covered in strange markings. “You recognize it?” It was one of many red clay artifacts lined up on the wall, though none of the others had uniquely drawn Loki’s attention.

“It certainly seems familiar and these markings are Asgardian in origin.” Loki bent down close to the case, hair falling around her face. “How did it get here?”

Tony leaned against the wall, scouting for more people trying to track him down. “Dunno, someone Indiana Jones’d it probably.” He heard a soft ' _pop '_  and turned around to see Loki lifting the glass case up. Hissing in her ear, he spied the nearest security patrol across the room. “What are you _doing?”_ The thought of Pepper's disappointment at hearing they'd screwed up the simple request made him tug at Loki's slim arm.

Snatching the artifact, Loki returned the glass. “Just looking. I believe I have rightful ownership of it, anyway.”

“Yeah, trying pulling that one when they see you. See how that goes.” Tony moved to block Loki from the security guard’s view and looked at the artifact. “Put it back. I can probably buy it without any of the mess.”

It was entirely covered in unreadable runes of differing shape, size, and thickness. They spiraled out from the center, growing larger the closer to the edge they were. As Loki turned it over, Tony saw that the other side was covered in even more runes.

“How curious…” Loki ran her fingers across the carved markings, tracing the outlines. “It's all gibberish but… I've surely seen this before?”

A short cough behind them made Tony spin around. The security guard attempted to look past him, to what Loki was doing. “Ma’am, I need you to--”

Stepping in, Tony raised his hands defensively even as his stomach sank. “I can explain.”

A sharp crack split the air and Tony heard Loki exclaim. “Oh!”

Wincing, Tony turned to see the damage. The red tablet lay was shattered in two on the ground. There was a white glow that, for a few seconds, Tony couldn't place. With a jolt, Tony realized it was coming from Loki’s hand, presumably where she'd shattered the disk. It spread quickly up Loki’s arm and the look on her face told Tony she was as surprised as he. “Loki,” he said, unsure. Mind going blank, Tony stared.

The security guard was speaking into the walkie-talkie he pulled from his hip. Anyone around was now staring at them and the growing glow creeping up Loki’s arm.

“Loki!” Tony yelped as Loki latched onto his arm, his vision went white seconds later and his entire body grew fuzzy; then he no longer felt his feet on the hardwood floor.

**00000**

Natasha stepped onto the pavement in front of the now empty gala, grumbling to Steve, who’s hair was still mussed from sleep. “I'm gonna kill them.”

Taking the stairsteps two at a time, Steve rubbed his forehead. “You're sure they were acting normally? Nothing that might indicate something was off?”

“ _Normal_ might be a stretch, but no, neither of them acted _more_ eccentric than usual.” She waved off a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent guarding the door and the team entered. They were led through the gallery, passing by rows of glass cases; discarded trash lay scattered lightly around, left over from the rushed exit of the guests. Natasha glanced back at Thor, who's hair was tied back in a messy ponytail. He met her eye and she beckoned him to catch up. “Any thoughts?”

Thor shook his head. “The pair of them are prone to theatrics. It would not be the first time Loki would have left a party in a dramatic fashion; I cannot speak for Stark, though I must assume.”

Grunting, Natasha shrugged. “I'll buy it but I doubt Fury will feel the same.”

As she guessed, by the time they approached the Director, he glared at them, his face sour. “Do any of you want to let me in on where your goddamn teammates are?”

Everyone looked to Natasha and she scowled. “Oh thanks, guys.” She stepped forward. “I was the last to see them. Neither gave any indication that they were planning anything. And when Pepper tells Tony to do something he usually follows _her_ orders pretty spot on.”

Fury scowled. “So all we have is unreliable eyewitnesses and whatever the hell it is that Loki broke, that what you're telling me?”

The group muttered incoherently, save Thor who spoke up. “I need to see this item, perhaps I can identify it.”

Sighing, Fury led them passed the security line. On a hastily assembled table lay a dusty artifact, shattered in two down the middle. They waited as Thor looked the thing over, picking the pieces up and flipping them over, brow knit together.

He _'tutted'_ and turned back to them after his inspection. “It seems to be an Asgardian artifact but I would need more time to read all that is carved into it. If it is magical in origin then it's likely the shattering of it was what set it off.”

Fury nodded. “That lines up with our eye witness testimony; though he mentioned something about a girl with them. You know anything about--”

“That was just Loki.” Natasha interrupted him, she saw Thor smile slightly while the rest of the team, muted by exhaustion, barely reacted.

For a few moments, Fury stared at her. “So that's why the reports didn't match up. Thought he meant there was a girl there too. Alright, just make my job harder, that’s typical.” Grabbing an agent, Fury muttered in his ear and the agent began to write on a clipboard. Focusing back on them, Fury pointed to the relic. “Gimme a day to look this thing over and I'll get it to you. But I better get some results or I'm taking it back.”

Natasha scowled at Fury’s tone but said nothing. Lack of sleep, however, seemed to have loosened Steve’s inhibitions and he opened his mouth. “Like how you figured out where that echo relic came from? Or how it could have come from Loki’s scepter despite the fact that S.H.I.E.L.D.’s _apparently_ got it locked down?”

She couldn't help but smirk.

Growling, Fury was not amused. “Don't try me, Rogers.” Clearly the failure still weighed on him. “I want this wrapped up within the week. I'll get a full report to you in a few hours tops. Get some sleep, you're not going to make yourselves useful here so just… go.” He looked them over with a final critical gaze. “And Barton, your shirt’s on backwards.”


	2. 2

Tumbling to the ground, Tony landed with a puff of snow. Immediately he began to shake as he struggled to stand, the snow rising practically to his knees. It had to be below zero. He shivered, teeth chattering, and turned around, looking for Loki. He was too shocked to yet be angry.

The god kneeled in the snow behind him and blew hair from her face and surveyed the landscape, breath white in the air. “Surely not…” There was uncertainty in her eyes.

Sloshing through the snow, Tony went to stand by her, blowing into his hands to keep them warm. He was already beginning to lose feeling in them. “I'm freezing, where the hell are we?” A part of him was just relieved to see them both in one piece.

Loki glanced at him, face grim, hinging on fear, Tony thought. With a flick of her wrist an overlong coat appeared in her hands, which Tony took. Another flick and her entire body glittered, Tony squinted at the light and turned away. By the time it died down, the Loki Tony was far more familiar with stood before him, dressed in warm looking armor. “Welcome to Jotunheim.” Loki gestured to huge pillars that Tony had first mistook for stalactites.

“Pepper is going to flay me alive.” Tony's heart sank as he realized what had happened. “C’mon man, I had one job: don't screw anything up. And _you_ just had to--” He came to a stop, noticing that Loki seemed more interested in watching the horizon than giving him any sort of rebuttal. “We can… get back, right? I don't want to be stuck in this cold shithole any longer than I have to.”

Loki's jaw clenched, for a movement he said nothing. “Of course we can leave," he snapped quickly. "There's a passage between realms just outside their main palace, from there we can jump from Asgard to New York. We shan't be bothered as long as we keep our heads low; Jotunheim is in a state of disrepair at the moment.”

“Can you get us there?” Tony frowned doubtfully, the whole landscape looked the same to him, all snow and ice, other than the high reaching columns, which were scattered about, nothing about this place looked to be a marker of civilization. Wind that howled over the bluff added a sense of desolation that only increased his sense of wild dread.

Fidgeting with his hands, Loki at first didn't respond. He took a deep breath, eyes dark. He seemed to push off whatever was stalling him and nodded. “Yes, I can. Despite its looks, the path to the palace is fairly straightforward.” Hopping from the snowbluff they stood on, Loki trekked on without another word.

Their travel was slow, silent, and cold. More than once Tony stumbled through a pile of snow he thought was solid, plunging himself thigh deep into snow. Occasionally they had to detour around a shattered cliff, narrowly avoiding a surely fatal fall. The longer they stayed the colder and more miserable Tony became. He was not the only one miserable; Tony watched Loki grow steadily more quiet and hesitant with every step. Though he couldn't be sure without asking, he had to assume what this place was to Loki based on what he knew of the god. It was clear Loki had no intention of sharing, asked or not. Despite his many burning questions, Tony kept silent, partially because he was too winded to speak, the cold air cut at his lungs with each breath, he knew, too, that nothing he could say would shake Loki from his throne of self doubt.

The towering pillars gave way to more complex structures slowly. They slipped in between the structures, keeping a lookout for any movement. Their luck honestly astounded him, they had not encountered any hints of a living being since arriving. Something, despite Loki’s assurances and the nature of the place, Tony had not expected to be so fortunate on.

That fact seemed to perturb Loki more than relieve him. Tony caught him muttering to himself as they scaled a particularly steep cliff next to a tower of cold blue stone. “They've seen us, _surely_.” Loki held up his hand and stopped, much to Tony's tired relief. He cocked his head. “Do you hear that?”

Tony listened, nothing but the howling of the wind around them stuck out to him. “No, what is it?” Shaking his head, Loki picked up his pace, leaving Tony lagging behind. About three quarters of the way up Tony heard it. A weak wailing, barely audible over the wind. He called out to Loki who had just crested the hill. “It sounds like… a baby.”

For a moment Loki was silhouetted on top of the snow, grey sky's casting his form in shadow, hair twisting in the wind. “No… no.” Loki disappeared over the hill, scrambling down it. Though Tony couldn't see his face the confusion in Loki's voice startled him.

“Hey, wait!” Tony nearly fell trying to speed the rest of the way, he skidded down the shallow side of the hill. Loki was acting weird, weirder than normal, it made him uncomfortable. Being stuck in a freezing hellhole with someone who was known for dropping off the map at random, someone who was acting odd, didn't fill him with confidence. He didn't want Loki out of his sight.

Loki stood over something Tony didn't recognize at first. As Tony caught his breath he realized it was a baby left out on the rock face, alone save for Loki. For a second he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, that the light reflected off the stone around them, but no, the child was distinctly blue. The odd sight struck him and Tony ground to a stop. He opened his mouth to speak, but saw Loki’s face and his words died in his throat.

Kneeling down, Loki stared at the child, eyes wide with a very vulnerable fear, he was barely breathing. Tony watched as a tear ran down his face, freezing halfway. Loki wiped at his eyes and his gaze lingered on his own hand. He reached out for the child, hand claw like, there was anger in his eyes and his quick movement. Tony started forward, suddenly afraid Loki would hurt the child, stopping as Loki glanced at him briefly and the anger drained away. Still reaching out, Loki’s hand hovered over the baby for a moment. The child reached out, grabbing onto Loki's finger, Tony could hear it whimper. From where the child touched Loki, Tony could see the skin on Loki's finger begin to turn blue, his fingernails black; Tony had seen it once before and sucked in a breath. The hue crept up Loki's hand, for a moment he did not seem to notice, enraptured by the child as he was. When he did, Loki roughly jerked his hand back; the child began to cry weakly, wailing into the desolate landscape. Loki stared at his own hand as the blue receded, ignoring the baby’s tears.

From downhill there was the sound of shuffling, metal against metal.

Loki stood abruptly, he glanced from where the sound had come from, to the child upon the rock and snow, to Tony. Without a seconds more hesitation, Loki sprinted towards him, grabbing him by the arm and hissing in Tony's ear as he dragged them both up the hill. “Get out of sight!” Pulling Tony with supernatural strength, Loki succeeded in hiding the two of them in a matter of moments.

From where they had just been, Tony heard a voice he didn't know, ragged with exhaustion but full of power. It reminded him of Thor after a night long fight. “Halt.” It spoke commandingly, to another. A small pause and the voice came again, softer this time. “What are _you_ , little one?”

Tony stared at Loki, who bared his teeth and closed his eyes, he shuddered but it didn't seem to be from the cold. His lips moved but no words came out.

“You must belong to… what to do with you?” The wind howled, almost tearing the voice’s words away. “Well, I cannot just leave you- but you mustn't look like that… Ah, _curious_. That's much better, thank you, clever little thing.” The voice quieted as the wailing of the child died away into simpers. “Good, good. Hush.”

Nothing more came from the other side of the hill and for a few minutes they stayed silent, Tony watching Loki intently. He seemed frozen in place, eyes closed tight, scowl hinging on a cruel smile.

Finally the god moved, standing. Voice unsteady, he held out a hand to help Tony up. “This is… far more dire than I had anticipated.” His eyes held a distant look.

“What do you mean?”

Loki scowled, shaking his head. “That tablet… We’re not just in Jotunheim; this is the past; my past.”

Tony stared, shocked. His vision spun, a sudden bout of lightheadedness coming over him. “Please be kidding.”

Grim, Loki sighed. “Unfortunately, no.”

“Fix this.” Reeling, Tony snapped at Loki, angry and exhausted. 

The god winced, he looked vaguely sick. “I need time to think.”

**00000**

The cave walls pressed down upon him; across the waves was not an Asgard he knew. Loki could feel Tony's eyes following him as he paced, it made it difficult to think. He wished he could slip away but that would leave Tony alone.

“Hey, Lokes, we’ll figure this out," Tony muttered, far too unsure to be comforting. "I'm a genius and you're a god; I'm pretty sure we can bend time if we put our minds to it.”

Holding out his hand, Loki silenced Tony. “I don't doubt it but there will be no need for that. The artifact, I finally realize where I recognize it from, it's here, within Asgard’s vault. Which is laughably easy to break into if you have any brain cells, which I do.” He mustered the energy to relax and stopped pacing.

“Uh-huh.” Tony didn't look convinced.

Slightly offended, Loki grew haughty. “Are you doubting _my_ ability? I've been stealing things since I was a child.” Eager to shake off his obviously shown weakness in Jotunheim, Loki maintained his confidence as best he could. Tony should not be the feeling the need to reassure. He needed no such thing.

“Yeah, and I built my first high-functioning robot at twelve," Tony replied, deadpan. "Doesn't mean I don't have something blow up in my face every other week.”

“I've had a few centuries of practice, Tony," Loki shot back, unwilling to be patronized.

Shaking his head, Tony stared out of the cave they sheltered in, the golden city of Asgard in the distance. “All I'm saying is be careful.”

Slumping to the the ground, Loki ruffled his hair. “I know. Time is not a toy to be trifled with. We are in an incredibly violate position, change anything crucial and this entire point in time could collapse around us, leaving us far more literally _'out of time'_  than Rogers will ever be.” Revealing some of just how dire straits they stood within took some of the weight off Loki’s shoulders. He'd been lost in a Void once and didn't relish the chance to do so again.

“I'm not a theoretical physicist but wouldn't stealing the thing change the past- er- present.” Tony watched him carefully.

“I should have specified, it _is_ here now, in our time it _was_ within the vault. The relic was stolen around this time.” Loki smirked. “Possibly by us; time as a fluid space is not the _most_ simple concept.”

“Yeah, I got that.” Tony made to stand. “So, what's the plan?”

He fidgeted with his hands for a moment. “I need to scout the palace first, to be sure the cycle of guard has not changed. It is just after a war, they may be on high alert.” He ignored Tony's suspicious silence, standing and moving towards the front of the cave. “I will be back by midnight.”

Before Loki was able to leave, Tony called out, still clearly concerned. “Hey, you sure you're good to go? I'd get it if you want to take a break, cool off.” Though Tony didn't say it, Loki knew what he meant and a part of Loki hated that he’d given Tony enough reason for concern to ask.

“I already told you what would likely happen if someone were to try and change the past. Do you think I want that?”

“Are you willing to risk it? There are things I wish I could change, too, y’know. I would give almost everything to fix them, almost.” Tony stared at Loki, his eyes hard. As best Tony tried to keep his face blank, his dark gaze betrayed a certain fear.

Grimacing, Loki couldn't hold his gaze, instead watching the city. “I want to," he admitted. "More than anything. To give myself another chance, at least… on that.” He clenched a fist, smothering his own desires. “But I know the risks. And I know I cannot, as wholly as I wish to. Worry not, Anthony, I will return.”

“‘Course," Tony nodded, still sounding unconvinced. "Get me some food while you're at it.”

Loki rolled his eyes. “You want anything else; coffee, maybe your dry cleaning?”

“Yeah, that'd be great.” Tony smirked, though the smile didn't light up his eyes, still mired by doubt.

By the time he reached the edge of the city, Loki had donned a new glamour, one he would change once he got to the palace proper. The streets bustled with activity in the late afternoon, cries of joy and relief at the end of the war. Soldiers milled about, toting flagons, laughing. Loki had never seen the city like this, it inspired envy.

Curiosity overcoming him, Loki followed a particularly rowdy group of soldiers into a bar; Asgard was a rumor mill, surely someone knew something of what had transpired on Jotunheim. Situating himself at a nearby table, Loki listened in as the elder soldier beckoned the waitress.

“The usual!” He leaned into his friends. “Gah, when was the last time we had good ale?”

One of them laughed. “None to be found in _that_ realm, to be sure! I like my mead cold, but not that cold! Buncha brutes, can't appreciate the finer things in life.” His words were not surprising to Loki, as much as they stung, it was not an uncommon sentiment and one Loki’d heard a thousand times before.

“What do you expect? They're monsters, they're more likely to drink your blood than your beer.” The soldiers laughed, harshly. The sound grated on Loki's ears. Loki's stomach turned and he stood to leave, feeling ill. That too, was something he’d heard before, yet now it was too much for him. This was clearly a miscalculation on his part. He stared down at his hands, revulsion twisting his gut.

As drinks were served the group toasted and the waitress who served them sat, smiling slyly. “Good to have you back, boys. It has been dull without you.”

“Really, nothing fun happen without us?”

Loki hesitated, sitting again slowly. Perhaps there was something, if he could just wait it out.

A light twinkled in the waitress's eye. “Well, other than the birth of the Queen’s second child, but you all heard of that, they only announced it today.”

“Aye.” The elder soldier nodded, clanking his flagon to the wood. “Fine thing, that is. I simply find it strange they kept it under wraps; if I remember, her firstborn was announced long before he was born.”

“Ah, the first child is always special and it _was_ wartime, perhaps they did not wish to distract us." The barmaid shrugged, slapping off the hand of a straying soldier with a glare. "But, the whole thing sits strangely to me, something I cannot put my finger on.”

The elder leaned back in his chair, looking critically at her. “While I know what you mean, you should not say it aloud; the Gatekeeper may be watching.” The group grew still, glancing around nervously.

One of the younger guards broke the silence. “I bet _he_ knows.”

“Of course he does, he knows everything that goes on in Asgard. There's no one the king trusts more, save maybe the Queen. Speaking of the firstborn, how is he? Heard anything more on that?” Their conversation rattled into mundane and Loki departed, throwing the group a covert glare.

Of course Heimdall had known, Loki had to wonder the true extent to which the king’s most trusted were aware. How many had kept the secret from him for so long?

Slipping into the palace, Loki searched for the proper soldier to imitate.

Caught off guard as he rounded a corner, Loki came face to face with an older looking woman. He jumped but she didn't acknowledge him, apparently lost in thought. Sighing in relief, Loki stepped behind a column as he heard rapid footsteps.

A thin guard called out for the woman. “Milady, the queen has requested your counsel! It has to do with her son. She is in his chambers.”

The woman nodded and the guard rushed off. As the healer passed him, Loki made a split second decision. _What could go wrong,_ he convinced himself quickly, ignoring the obvious answers.

Place a hand on her shoulder, he sent a jolt of magic through her, knocking her unconscious. “Good, good. I need your help now.” He dragged her into an abandoned room and began to work a complex spell. Placing a finger on her forehead, he felt his mind undergo a slight shift and winced as a wave of exhaustion rolled through him. Shaking it off, he woke her.

It was a strange sensation, seeing through two pairs of eyes. He took a moment to practice his control over her mind and sent her on her way, him at the reins.

She slipped into the room, Frigga stood over the crib in its center, turning as the door opened. “Ah, Mjoll, thank you for coming.” Her voice was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise hostile palace.

“Of course, my Queen.” Loki had the woman bow. “What is it you need of me?”

Frigga motioned them forward. “Yours is an opinion I deeply respect; what do you make of this decision my husband has made?”

Glancing down at the crib, Loki stared at the child, at himself. He struggled for the right words. “Are you angry with him?” _Surely she had to be, surely. He could not be the only one._

She sighed, dangling a finger over the crib. “At first, yes. A choice like this should not be made lightly. It is not as if I could refuse the child now that he has been brought to our land; I am not cruel.”

“Of course not,” Loki-Mjoll was quick to reassure.

“And yet…” She paused as the baby grabbed for her finger. “This child will grow up surrounded by our culture, one he is not a part of. Even as the king’s son I fear he will never be able to find peace; it's not in their nature.”

Loki flinched, forcing the healer to as well. She had always been so careful of her words on that subject; he should have realized, remembered, that she’d hold similar beliefs as the rest. _Was it merely for him that she held her tongue?_ “Will you ever tell him of his true parentage?” The words slipped from his mouth before he could stop himself. Silently cursing himself, he could do nothing but wait for her response.

“That is Odin’s choice to make; his decision to take the child as a chance for peace in the future, to bring the two kingdoms together is his to bear and act upon. I can try to make him feel as much a rightful son of Asgard as Thor but that is the extent of my agency in the matter. But I fear he will feel an outcast were he told; that is not something I would wish upon any child in my care.” Loki closed his eyes and took a shuddering breath. When he opened them he saw Frigga gazing at him, the healer, with concern. “Are you quite alright?”

Smiling, Loki had the healer nod. “Yes, milady. I was merely thinking.”

Frigga smirked, a familiar glint in her eye. “A fine thing to do, that is.” She pulled her hand away from the crib. “I am going to check on Thor, watch him; would you?”

Making the healer bow, Loki replied. “Of course.”

As Frigga left the room, Loki bent over the crib, uncertain. He made to touch the child but hesitated, it felt wrong. After all he’d done, the blood that coated his hands, soaked them, how could he even imagine reaching out for the child before him. This child didn't know, what he'd become, what they'd turn him into; Asgard and its obsessions over the things he would never have, the things he would never, could never, be.

Swallowing his bitterness, Loki saw the child watching the healer with bright green eyes and he mustered a smile. “I'm sorry. I wish I could do more for us.”

Withdrawing from the woman’s consciousness, leaving only the memories he wished for her to keep, Loki finished his mission, scouting out the rest of the palace. On his was back from the palace, cutting through alleyways, he stole a basket of food and a small jug of water. The city roared with celebrations, even as he hopped across the rocky expanse separating it from the cliffs, he could hear music, melting in with the waves.


	3. 3

Tony jerked awake from an uneasy sleep as Loki entered the cave and narrowly caught a basket the size of his head, thrown his way. He tore into it, pulling out a roll and fruit that resembled an orange. “Ooh! You're my savior,” sighing dreamily, he tore into a roll; it tasted of sweet lemon and practically melted on his tongue.

Rolling his eyes, Loki slid down to sit beside him. “I appreciate the enthusiasm.” Rummaging through the basket, Loki pulled another of those fruits and began to peel it; it's insides were bright violet. “I say we leave just before dawn. That gives us some time for rest. Once we are inside the castle we must move quickly.” As he spoke he flicked his wrist, conjuring a green flame that writhed on the stone and lit the cave in an eerie light. “The guards switch out periodically, as long as we take out and impersonate two of them we should slip by without issue.”

Starting on the fruit, Tony nodded. “What about when we get the thing?” He bit into the fruit, it tastes closer to a banana than an orange.

“Hopefully get out of there before the Destroyer obliterates us.” Without glancing up from his hands, Loki muttered dully.

“What?!”

Loki smirked, wearily. “Even the best hidden cannot avoid detection once something is removed from the vault. Picture one of your suits, except lacking the egregious paint job, larger, and with the ability to shoot flames from its face.” He waved a dismissive hand even as Tony sputtered past the insult to his style. “I do not _plan_ on dying to it.”

“That's reassuring.” Tony's sarcasm was not lost on Loki, who shook his head. Watching the green flames curl on themselves for a while, they ate in silence. Refreshed, Tony stretched out, already feeling sore from their snowy trek. Glancing over, Tony saw Loki picking at his hands, his face obscured by his hair. “Hey, good job.” The compliment was tentative.

“Hmm?” Hastily, Loki lowered his hands and looked to Tony. His face was nearly unreadable.

Tony gestured around. “We’re still here, so you didn’t change anything. Thanks for not leaving me to die alone out of time.” It had been a genuine fear, despite Loki’s reassurances.

“It would be more likely that you would float eternally, neither dead nor alive, in a sub reality until the end of time itself; in which case you would finally cease to exist, along with the rest of the realms and everything holding them together.”

“Oh boy, thanks. I’m gonna sleep great.” Rolling onto his side, Tony grumbled. “See you in like five hours.” He was exhausted and had been barely clinging to consciousness for hours now. Maybe some real sleep would help clear his head, at least, he hoped so.

He was awoken roughly by a jab in the side. Jolting to a start, Tony winced and grabbed at his ribs. He glared up at Loki, blearily. “Not necessary.”

“But effective.” Loki tapped his foot impatiently. He did not wait a moment after Tony stood before snapping his fingers.

A golden glow surrounded Tony and when he could see again his body was no longer his own. Flexing his hands, Tony frowned. “Give a guy some warning next time, okay?” He picked at the glamour’s scraggy beard. “Why do I even need this? You’re not changing.”

Loki smirked wearily. “Your particular… _stylings_ are not Asgardian in the least. Your appearance would raise suspicion. Once we get to the palace I’ll place glamours upon us both but only you need it for now.”

“So looking good is illegal, now?” Pleased with himself, Tony saw Loki’s eyes light up and knew what was coming.

“If that were the case I would have been labeled a criminal far soon than I was.”

“You’re so predictable, _wow_.” Laughing, Tony, hopped from the cave. He congratulated himself on lightening the mood.

He heard Loki scoff. “You set me up.”

“Obviously. But you went for it.”

“Remind me again, who is the _one person_ that can help you get back to your proper time?”

Tony scowled without intent at Loki as the god passed by him, looking smug. “I’d figure it out.” The levity was truly a relief.

Walking backwards over the rocky shore, with no particular effort, to continue to speak with him, Loki raised his eyebrows, disbelievingly, “Would you like to test that?” Not giving Tony a chance to reply, he turned around and sped up.

The closer they got to the city, the more Tony reveled in the scale of it. The palace extended high into the air, sitting at the top of the city like a crown; entire tiers raised as high as New York’s tallest skyscrapers. No matter where they walked in the narrow streets, the palace was visible, looming like a frozen golden wave, caught at the point where it should be crashing down upon them. More than once, Tony almost collided with something or someone because he was looking up at it. He felt like a tourist but didn't care.

After a particularly nasty trip, Loki grabbed roughly onto Tony’s arm and hissed in his ear, pulling him away from the small group of curious onlookers. “You’ll break the glamour if you keep that up. You can gawk another day, not today, _not now_.”

Their path became more and more winding as Loki dove down alleyways and sidestreets, finally stopping at a tall blank rockface. Loki held out his hands, pressing them against the surface. “There’s an exit here, for emergencies only. It’s not supposed to be opened from the outside but… I can fix that.” As he spoke, green tendrils wormed their way into the stone and moments later there was a dull ' _pop'_ and the rock face swung open. “Tada!” Loki grinned back at Tony, who clapped his hands with a sarcastic smile that clearly didn't dissuade Loki.

The inside of the palace was no less impressive; gold gilded ceilings rose high above them in draping folds like curtains. Torches crackled along the walls, throwing light shimmering off the walls. Their footsteps echoed throughout the polished hallways. After a few minutes, Loki pulled them behind a pillar and stood at the ready.

From afar Tony heard a pair of guards approaching, their voices muddled by echoes. As the guards passed them, Loki jumped from behind, taking the pair down in a slash of green energy. Loki stuttered for a moment afterwards.

“You good?” Concerned, Tony glanced around the hallway. The last thing he needed was Loki fainting on him.

“Of course, merely a bit tired.” Loki moved the guards into an abandoned room and, with a flick of his wrist, adopted their appearances to the both of them.

Throwing them a last glance, Tony muttered to Loki as they kept walking on, he followed steps behind the god. “Won’t they raise the alarm when they wake up?”

“If we are not long gone by that time, then we shall have been already discovered.” Loki looked him over critically. “Now straighten your back, you do not wish to be reprimanded for slouching. And hold your weapon as I am, do not speak when we approach the room, simply do as I do.”

Following Loki’s commands, they descended into the bowels of the castle, the golden aesthetic giving way to blue-grey stone. They walked out over a deep pit that seemed to have no bottom, in the center, suspended by thin bridges, lay what could only be the vault. The two guards standing outside the ornate vault doors nodded as they approached. Mimicking Loki, Tony stood beside his respective guard and tapped his spear to the ground, the sound traveled throughout the chasm. The on duty guards relaxed slightly and began to make their way across the pit.

Once the guards were out of sight, Loki motioned for Tony to follow and dropped his spear but did not drop their disguises. Tony questioned him on that. “Aren’t these tiring to keep up?”

Loki looked grim, the blue light of the pit reflecting across his face. “The king can see through the eyes of the Destroyer. He does not need to know our identities.”

“Can he really," Tony frowned, impressed. The more he learned about Asgard the less primitive it appeared, just more aesthetically dedicated than he would have expected.

“As if he were there himself. It’s an extension of the actions of its owner, of the current king.” Loki's eyes were distant as he spoke. Pushing the tall doors open, Loki beckoned Tony inside. “Swiftly now.”

Tony glanced in the alcoves as they passed by them, most of the items were a mystery to him, though he recognized Thor’s hammer among them and pointed it out, muttering. “There’s--”

Without looking, Loki snapped at him. “Yes, _I know_.” His voice was bitter.

At the far end of the vault was a pillar, a large glowing casket atop it. Despite his curiosity, Tony thought better than to ask when he saw Loki throw the thing a nasty look.

He spotted the tablet at the end of one of the hallways and alerted Loki. “Here it is!”

Loki rushed towards it but hesitated before grabbing it from its stand. “Are you ready?” He stared at Tony with half-concealed uncertainty.

“Let’s do this.”

Nodding, Loki grabbed the thing up, seconds later there was a scraping of metal on metal and Tony peaked out from the alcove. Something twice his size was stepping out from the end of the vault. He ducked back inside as the metal construct swiveled its head, obviously searching for the intruders. Looking back to Loki, Tony saw that he was flipping the tablet over in his hands, biting his lip. “Loki, we have company!”

“I’m well aware!” Loki pulled Tony back with one hand, placing himself between the Destroyer and Tony.

Thudding rumbled the chamber as the Destroyer turned on them in their alcove; Tony saw it’s face open up and heard a “whoosh” of air as it leaned back. It loosed a blast of fire as Loki conjured a glittering shield at the alcove’s entrance. The fire buffeted the shield, Tony could see Loki’s mouth moving but the roar of the blast filled the air entirely. As he watched, Loki dropped to one knee, the force field between them and the Destroyer’s fire flickered. Loki ran his hands over the relic, swaying slightly.

The fire died away, replaced by the same whooshing sound as the Destroyer prepared for another assault.

Loki exclaimed as the tablet lit up. “Anthony!”

Immensely relieved, Tony grabbed onto his arm and stared down the Destroyer, gritting his teeth. Flames lit the inside of its body, radiating heat.

He felt tingling running up his body and the last thing he saw before his vision went white was the Destroyer’s flames barreling towards them.

**00000**

A sudden white glow lit the two pieces of the artifact and Bruce jumped back, exclaiming and clutching at a chair. “What the hell?” Thor, who had been helping him, took a cautious step away.

When the light died away, the tablet was whole once more.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Bruce approached the table where the now complete artifact lay. They had been prodding and testing the thing for over half a day with no break, to no avail. Not even Jarvis could detect anything coming from it. Essentially, it had been a broken bit of rock, they had been starting to doubt it actually had anything to do with what happened and that Loki wasn’t just playing some elaborate practical joke.

Making to touch it, Thor spoke. “How curious-”

“Thor, wait!” Grabbing Thor’s hand, Bruce shook his head. “You might set it off.”

Thor looked skeptical and a bit offended at Bruce's outburst but retracted his hand.

Clearing his throat, Bruce spoke to Jarvis. “Can we get a scan on this thing, Jarvis? See if there’s anything going on now that it’s fixed.” As they waited, Bruce mused. “What do you think could have caused it to recreate itself? Definitely wasn’t anything _we_ did.”

“Aye.”

Jarvis spoke up, having finished the scan. “It it radiating minor levels of electricity along with heat. None of it gives any indication of being harmful.”

Nodding, Bruce moved to his laptop. “Thanks, Jarvis. Could you contact S.H.I.E.L.D. for me? Try to get the scan as direct to Fury as possible… seems to be the only way to get things done with them, nowadays.” He swiveled in his chair, watching Thor peer at the thing. “You getting anything from the writing on it now?”

Gingerly, Thor picked the tablet up and flipped it over, quietly reading the intricate runes covering its surface. Waiting, Bruce sent an alert to Steve of what had happened.

With a short cough, Thor set the artifact down. His brow was furrowed in a way that made gave Bruce little confidence. “It’s covered in short stanzas, usually only a few words long. They’re very fragmented. Here, this one.” He pointed towards a thinly etched section. “This reads: ' _inheritance power gained'_  and here-” Another section, closer to the edge. “This one is: ' _lofty ambitions failed;"_  they continue on like that.”

Bruce frowned. “Those phrases mean anything to you?”

Thor shook his head, frowning. “Not particularly, no.”

“Typical. Keep looking for any sections that might help you piece this together.” Bruce’s laptop “dinged” and he glanced over at it. “Steve is coming down to check it out; maybe he’ll be the push we need.”

By the time Steve entered the room, Bruce had gone back to checking the energy readings from the tablet, Thor having gone silent with concentration.

Pulling up a chair, Steve looked at them expectantly, the hint of a smile on his face. “What you got for me?”

After Thor’s quick explanation, Steve stayed quiet, tapping his fingers rhythmically against his leg.

Breaking the silence, Bruce gestured towards the ongoing scan of the object. “I’m keeping an eye on its energy output; to see if we can manage to suss out some kind of pattern that way.” Though he doubted much would come of it, despite the base since behind magical objects, he wasn’t doing much more than taking shots in the dark without an expert.

Steve nodded, continuing to stare at the tablet. “Thor, could you read some more of those phrases off for me?”

“Uh, yes.” Thor cleared his throat and traced another set of markings. “Here: “ _failure of trust”_ and here “ _family not family_ ”; but why-” He stopped as Steve stood.

Tilting his head, Steve frowned. “You know what this reminds me of?” He didn’t wait for a response. “The rings in a tree.” He pointed towards a swath of symbols. “Like where it’s all pale here; looks like-”

Taking another look at the tablet, Bruce interrupted him. “What are you talking about? That part’s darker than the stuff around it.”

Steve laughed. “It’s barely visible!”

Bruce looked to Thor. “Do you know what he means?”

At first Thor said nothing. He pointed to a different section. “What does this look like to you?”

Giving it a moment's thought, Bruce shrugged. “Fairly normal, considering the rest.”

Thor looked to Steve expectantly.

“It’s in the pale patch.”

Thor scratched at his beard. “I see neither. To me the runes are incredibly misshapen, barely readable.”

“What?!”

Holding up a finger, Thor stopped them from speaking. “Comparing the relic’s writing to the rings of a tree, that may not be wholly inaccurate.” Thor swept up the tablet, running his hand across it. “A tree’s rings record their years, good, bad, each etched accordingly; a record of their history, unique to each and every one. We all see different things in the same symbol, no?” They nodded and Thor continued. “It could be that is what this relic is doing, etching our histories for remembrance; recorded in short phrases, to be interpreted as your past wills them.”

Bruce straightened in his chair, wholly alarmed. “They’re in the past? Can they even get back? Will we even be able to help if we only see our own pasts?” He glanced to Steve who, too, was staring with rapt attention.

Thor shook his head. “I know not; I’ve never heard of anything like this before. My specialty is not this kind of knowledge.” He smiled for a moment. “Should anyone know, it would be Loki. It would not surprise me if he has already come to this conclusion. Once he learns how to control it, then they could likely return at any time” Thor’s smile faded. “As long as he does not get… distracted by the power this thing holds.”


	4. 4

Tony hit the ground hard, landing on his back and slamming his head against the ground beneath him. He groaned and sat up, the glamor hiding him fading. Looking around, they still seemed to be in Asgard’s palace, though this room was far more cluttered than anything he had seen previously in the city. Books littered the floor, spines cracked; the sheets of the plush bed were messy, pillows were strewn about. 

Rising to his feet, Tony saw Loki on his left. The god pulled himself onto a chair, still clutching the artifact in his right hand; he sighed heavily.

“Where are we?” 

Glancing around, Loki mumbled a response. “My quarters… not sure what time period. Doesn’t look recent, though.” He was clearly exhausted, Tony couldn’t blame him.

“Define recent. That word means two  _ totally  _ different things for the two of us.” 

Loki opened his mouth to speak but before he did a high pitched laugh sounded from somewhere outside the room. Jolting up, Loki swiftly beckoned Tony to him; a shimmer went over their heads and descended to the floor. Loki put a finger to his lips in a silencing motion and scooted against the wall, pulling Tony along with him.

The door swung open and a small figure, just taller than Tony’s waist, entered, slamming it shut hard enough to jostle a precarious pile of knick knacks on the table next to Tony; one of them, a spiral of glass, fell to the ground and shattered near Tony’s feat. This Loki looked to be about ten, though Tony couldn’t guess as his real age. The kid’s grin faltered as he saw the broken bauble. Glancing at the door, the child swept up the pieces and laid them upon his bed. Grabbing one of the books from the floor, the kid sat cross legged in front of the pieces, flipping through the book. 

Glancing to the older Loki, Tony gestured towards the door.

Loki shook his head.

Every few seconds the child Loki would glance nervously at the door, as if waiting for something. As they watched, the kid held his hands over the shattered glass, looking from the open book at his side to the pieces. Green energy flickered at his fingertips, ever so slowly it knit the glass back together. Looking pleased, the young Loki, snatched up the spiral and inspected it.

The door swung open without warning and all three of them jumped. In the door stood a young Thor, barely taller than Loki; he panted, winded, his face was red. “Sif’s real mad!” The exclamation was one of fear.

The young Loki slid off his bed. “What? What’s wrong?” His tone was flawlessly innocent. He fidgeted with the spiral of glass.

Tony glanced to his Loki, arching an eyebrow.

Thor ran towards the kid Loki, grabbing by him by his shoulders. “She’s coming  _ right now _ !”

The kid Loki dropped his innocent act, tossing the bauble onto his bed and whipped his head around. “Really? Can you stall her, please Thor?” He clasped his hands onto Thor’s, eyes wide.

“You did it! Why should I take any blame?”

“You would throw me to the wolves? I’m your  _ brother _ ! Would I not help you?”

Though Tony could see through the obvious guilt trip, Thor apparently did not as he chewed his bottom lip, frowning. After a few moments, he nodded. “What do you need me to do?”

Grinning for just a second, Loki pointed to the door. “Distract mother, do not let Sif anywhere near her!”

Looking determined, Thor ran out of the room.

Sighing, the kid Loki picked a book off the floor and hopped again on his bed, flipping through it intently. 

It didn’t take long for the door to swing open again, this time with a furious, nearly bald, girl on the other side. She stormed into the room, fuming.

Setting down his book, Loki smiled at her. “Oh! Hello, Sif. How are you? Did you do something with-”

“You did this!” As soon as she yelled he shut up; a remarkable display of self control for someone who had clearly just chopped all of his friend’s hair off. He stood there silently as she continued to yell. “I’ll tell the Allfather what  _ you  _ did!” 

“He likely has more important matters to deal with…” His response was muttered almost inaudibly.

“Fine, then the Queen it is!” She turned on her heel and sprinted out of the room.

After a moment of hesitation, the younger Loki followed after her. “Wait! I can grow it back! Stop!” His voice died away as the door swung closed behind him. Their footsteps grew quiet.

Beside Tony, his Loki relaxed and flicked a wrist. The air shimmered around them again.

Laughing slightly, Tony stared at him. “So you’ve always been an asshole, then?”

Loki smirked. “That’s debatable.”

“How much trouble did you get in?”

Running a hand across his lips, Loki sighed. “I got her to stop, promised her I could grow her hair back or she could do whatever she wanted. I was… unsuccessful but I did keep her from telling mother.”

“Oh yeah, and what’d she make you do?”

“Sew my lips together.”

“ _ What _ !” Tony yelped in surprise, staring at Loki incredulously. It was said so nonchalantly, surely Loki was exaggerating.

“Yes. I made it to dinner before mother found out about it. She was rather displeased about the whole debacle. Angrier than the Allfather, actually.” 

Still in shock, Tony massaged his forehead. “You… sewed your own lips shut? You were like ten!”

“Admittedly not my smartest bargain.”

“You’re  _ crazy _ .”

Loki laughed shortly. “Possibly.” He held up the tablet. “But that is no matter,  _ this  _ is, however.” The red clay gave no indication of the power it possessed. “Think of the possibilities! We could learn so much, better ourselves through observing our past actions!”

Loki’s enthusiasm perturbed Tony; he grimaced. “At what risk though? We’ve been lucky so far but what if next time we switch times we pop up in front of someone that we can’t hide from?” He watched as Loki ran a hand across the tablet. “Can you even control it or are you just firing it up and hoping for the best?” More than anything else he wanted to go home. If they were to mess with the tablet, it could be done later.

Looking annoyed by his hesitation, Loki shook his head. “You;  _ you  _ are chastising me for wishing to better myself, simply because it could be dangerous? After all the things you’ve done. Ha! What was it you told me: “ _ you have to run before you can walk _ ”? Then, let's run.” Grabbing Tony by the arm, Loki activated the tablet again and the runes on its began to glow.

Before Tony could protest, his vision filled with a white glow.

They touched down on soft snow, Tony could feel the grass underneath the thin layer of the stuff. Stumbling, he pulled away from Loki. “What the hell, man?!”

Loki ignored him, taking in their surroundings. Snow fell lightly from the sky that was nearly obscured by high reaching pines with grey bark. A sharp roar shook the trees and something was flung past them at incredible speeds. Pine needles fell around them. Seconds later a massive four tusked boar burst through the treeline, scattering Tony and Loki; both of who ducked for cover behind the girth of a downed pine. The boar screamed and Tony peaked over the tree trunk. A group of five picked at the boar's ankles; Tony recognized Thor, his hammer nowhere in sight, and Loki among them, as well as the grown version of what he could only assume was the girl he’d last seen lacking any hair.

As he watched, Tony saw the figure that had been thrown past them return to the fray. The girl, Sif’s, sword pierced the boar’s hide and it wailed, whipping her around and flinging her into into past Thor; the two tumbled backwards and left the rest of the group momentarily down to a quartet. Enraged, the boar bucked and Tony saw one of its hooves connect with past Loki; it sent him careening across the snowy ground and into a tree.

“Ah…” Beside Tony, he saw his Loki grab at his chest, grimacing.

The past Loki struggled to his feet, cradling his chest as well. He took a step and faltered. With a second of hesitation and a flick of his wrist, the Loki conjured multiple copies of himself, which encircled the boar. It roared and charged recklessly at the copies, passing through them and turning to try again. The rest of the group stared, seeming to forget what they were doing.

“Idiots… should have done  _ something _ .” Loki muttered; he still massaged his chest. 

The illusions distracted the boar long enough for Thor and Sif to rejoin the fight. Sif rushed the boar, its back turned to her, she hacked at it’s leg, slicing through its calf in one fluid motion. The beast screamed and tried to turn to face her. As it did, Thor intercepted it, driving his axe through its left eye.

Snapping back to action, the rest of the group redoubled their efforts and attacked the boar as it squealed.

Tony turned to Loki, who was no longer watching. He saw Loki tracing the runes again. “Don’t you goddamn dare.”

“Humor me, would you?”

“Loki, I want to go home.” He suddenly felt incredibly vulnerable. 

The god ignored his plea as the tablet began to glow again.

They hopped from realm to realm, time periods varying wildly. Each jump was a guessing game, Loki danced around Tony’s increasingly frustrated demands wildly, seemingly enamoured by the power of the tablet. More than once they narrowly avoided detection.

After a particularly rough transition between time periods; starting with nearly falling down a cliff and culminating with an breathless uphill sprint, they appeared in a grassy field, surrounded by low growing trees, sun high in the clear blue sky. Crickets whirred in the grass.

Catching his breath, Tony slammed a fist against the ground. This was exhausting, nothing he had said made Loki stop; the god barely even acknowledged him during some jumps. Maybe Loki just didn’t care. It was a frightening prospect. He saw a shimmer pass over their heads and heard Loki speak to himself.

“Eugh… it’s  _ her _ .”

Looking across the lush plain, Tony saw two figures sitting across from each other; one clearly Loki at whatever point in time it was this go around, the other a woman with long blonde hair that Tony didn’t recognize. Between the pair was a complex algorithm of green energy that twisted and writhed as they prodded at it.

Muttering, Tony didn’t look to Loki. “Who’s she, an ex?” Instead he watched the god’s grip on the tablet loosen.

“An ex pupil, of sorts. But a  _ leech _ , is what she was, is, I have not seen her in a hundred years. I do not wish to linger in her presence any longer, we should-” Tony grabbed the tablet from Loki’s hand before he could activate it again. The god stared at him with a great deal of shock. “What are you doing?”

“I’m done, Loki. I don’t want to go to some other random place and time. I want to go home, I want a cheeseburger, and I want to sleep in my bed. Take us home or I’m not giving this back. And if you won’t do that, you can go hang out with your past self and your ex over there and Back to the Future us out of existence, or whatever. Make your choice, but I’m done with this shit.” The words spilled out. Thoughts he’d been cultivating for entire cycles now, what felt like days and very well could have been.

Loki stared at him, affronted. “Tony-”

“What’s it gonna be?” Still holding the tablet, Tony glared.

Looking away, Loki murmured a response. “I do not know how.”

“Are you  _ friggin kidding me _ ?”He was practically shouting.

Loki shushed him, glancing nervously at the pair in the distance. “The tablet doesn’t record that recently, it cuts off approximately a year before the present.” He sounded ashamed.

“When did you figure that out?”

“As soon as I was able to get a proper look at it.”

“And  _ when  _ were you planning on telling me?” Tony lightheaded, they couldn’t be stuck, no way.

Loki fidgeted with his hands. 

“ _ When!? _ ”

“It makes no sense. Who would build a contraption capable of sending them into the past without giving themselves a path back? Something must be missing, what though, I know not.”

“You could have been looking for it this whole goddamn time! Instead you decided to drag me across time and space because, what, you were too proud to admit you didn’t know?” He was furious now.

Loki’s reply was inaudible.

“Oh, I’m sorry? What was that? Take some respons-” Tony stopped mid sentence as his arm began to tingle. Looking down, he saw that the tablet he held in his right hand had begun to glow. He snapped up to Loki, who took his arm. “Why did it activate?”

Loki stared at him searchingly. “You? Really…”

Once again, white overcame Tony’s vision.

He touched down on gravel, night air cold around them, Loki beside him. Continuing their conversation, Tony questioned him. “Why did it do that?”

Loki continued to watch him, looking him up and down. “Perhaps you some have modicum of latent magical aptitude. You’re certainly intelligent enough.”

Tony stared at his hands. “Really? What the f-”

The siren of a police car drowned him out and Tony, for the first time, took in their surroundings. They were in an alleyway, directly across the street was a hospital, bathed in pale moonlight and yellow streetlights. As he watched a police car pulled up and two figures got out of it. Double taking, Tony stared in growing horror. He knew this place, he knew this day; it was burned into the back of his brain. Vacantly, Tony took a step away from Loki. He couldn’t remember what he’d been saying. The hospital’s neon sign glowed bright white, he stared at it and his world spun. He’d been dropped into a nightmare.


	5. 5

“Tony?” Alarmed, Loki watched as Tony swayed slightly. Glancing at the scene behind them, Loki frowned. “What is this?” 

Tony looked ill, he leaned against the wall of the alley way and did not answer.

“Anthony.”

“I’m not- I’m not going in there. You want to know, go. But I won’t. Never again, I never want to see that again.” His mumbling was muted as he sank down to the ground.

Loki stared at him. “Stay here. I’ll be back.” He saw Tony nod and started across the street, setting up a chameleon glamor to hide him. It chipped away at his already meager energy. Slipping into the hospital unnoticed, he stalked the halls. It wasn’t hard to follow the line of police officers, he recognized some with S.H.I.E.L.D. patches as well. He descended down multiple flights of stairs, careful not to collide with any of the medical staff. After some time in silence, he met a police blockade. On the other side of it, he recognized a young Tony, beardless, in his pajamas.

The sight struck him on the spot. He knew how short the lives of Midgardians were, joked about it. They were fleeting, the span of their lives a mere heartbeat in comparison to his. Never, though, had he been confronted with it like this. He slipped easily past the police blockade, staring at Tony. Though he knew not what year it was, such things were difficult to judge, it could not be that long ago, given the look of the hospital.

And yet, Stark looked wholly different from his own. His face was that of youth, fuller, less lined, and lacking anything more than unshaven stubble; his hair was mussed and unkempt and would have given away his recent sleep had his pajamas not already done so. He was so  _ young _ . And so impossibly fragile.

The officer next to Stark put a hand on his shoulder. Tony jerked away, crossing his arms. He cleared his throat and spoke. “I want to see them.” Even his voice was different.

Nodding, the officer walked into the room in front of them, a window of glass separating them. The mood was oppressive.

Tearing his eyes from searching Tony’s features, Loki watched as the officer spoke to one of the staff inside. The walls of the room were covered in hatches, sheet draped tables littered the room. The man the officer spoke to gestured to a pair of tables. Loki noted the S.H.I.E.L.D. symbol on his coat.

Wheeling the tables over to the window, the man uncovered them from the neck up. An older man and woman lay very dead on the table.

Next to him, Tony made a soft wheezing sound. 

The pieces fell into place. Loki remembered learning everything he could about each of the Avengers. These people, Tony’s youth, those people had to be his parents.

As he watched, Tony put a fist against the glass, his reaction mirroring the Tony Loki knew on the street. Tony dragged his other hand across his face, his eyes were dull with shock. He shook his head almost imperceptibly. Drawing back his other hand, Tony shoved it in a pants pocket and leaned against the far wall, clearly wishing to be as far from here as possible. Yet, he never took his eyes off the bodies on the tables. He said nothing, only continued to shake his head, a hand over his mouth. His entire body seemed to crumple in on itself, weighed down by the sheer pain he was going through.

Loki stayed for a while longer, watching silently, before the mood became too much and he ascended to the surface. Young Tony’s own sorrow only coupled Loki’s realization of  Midgardian’s mortality. Stepping out onto the street, Loki made his way quickly over to his Tony, who still sat in the alleyway, staring at the ground. Dropping the spell, Loki made to sit beside him. For a few moments he could not think of what to say. “I was frightened. Am frightened. That we will not get back. That’s why I did not tell you.”

At first Tony didn’t reply. “I am too, y’know. Stop trying to act like you’re alone in everything.” He fiddled with the tablet, not looking at Loki.

“How old were you?” Loki took in every difference he saw between this Tony and the one he had seen. Midgardians were so small, so short lived. A small part of his mind raced through every spell to lengthen life he could think of; though he knew Tony would likely never except.

“I was twenty-one. Just in time to legally drink myself into a stupor.” Sighing, Tony drew his knees close to his chest and rested his chin on them.

“We should have just left. I’m… sorry.” He knew Tony had no reason to forgive him for his actions. As usual, he’d been selfish, thinking only of himself. 

“Already here, you might as well see.” Tony handed the tablet over. “But, yeah, I wanna leave. Is there anywhere that might help us get home? Anywhere at all?”

“My best guess would be Asgard. But…” Trailing off, Loki stared at Tony, still thinking of the younger Tony. He glanced from Tony to the tablet, running his fingers across his lips, thinking. “We can be in two places at the same time, no? As long as we do not interact.”

“Yeah…?”

“The same principle could work with this tablet, no?” The plan formulated itself as he spoke. Equal parts possible and deadly.

Tony perked up. “Yeah! What kind of chain reaction would that cause?”

“Something violate, I am sure.” Loki mustered a smirk.

Hollowly, Tony laughed. “Hey, I’d rather go out with a bang than a whimper.”

“Ehe, I suppose so.” Loki stared down at the tablet. “Yes. Let’s.” He looked to Tony for confirmation. He had to do better, try harder.

“Sounds good to me.” Hoisting himself up, Tony nodded.

Running a hand over the tablet, Loki searched for the correct string of words. “New York, would it be?” It was not hard to find, the patch was so illegible compared to the rest they could be only one thing. Looking to Tony, Loki held out a hand.

Tony grabbed him by the wrist; Loki did the same.

Activating the relic, it wasn’t long until Loki’s vision went white.

 

**00000**

 

The first thing Tony heard as the pair of them touched down was a distant explosion. Flinching, he looked up in time to see his suit flying past, pursuing a batch of Chitauri soldiers. His heart sank. “New York… Of all the times, this is the one you picked?”

“The city is in chaos, if you wish to move unseen there is no better gift than that.”

Tony glanced at their surroundings. “Well, we’re definitely not catching the train in this. You planning on walking? ‘Cause the museum is on the other end of our perimeter from here.”

“We may very well die and you are complaining about a bit of exercise?” Loki scowled at him. 

A Chitauri ship crash landed on the street next to them. Tony saw its pilot rappelling down the nearby building. “Shi-” He didn’t get to finish his exclamation as Loki lifted him into the air and pinned him to the alley wall, appearance mimicking what it was during The Battle of New York. There was undiluted malice in Loki’s eyes as he choked Tony, who panicked, grabbing onto Loki’s arm and attempting to kick at him. The sight of this version of Loki sent his heart pounding and brought back nothing but bad memories that he tried his best to suppress. Lungs struggling for air, spots appeared in Tony’s vision. 

He heard Loki snarl at the Chitauri, who stood watching them, guns hoisted. “Get  _ moving _ , we have a city to take!”

The Chitauri spoke in clicks.

Tony scrabbled at Loki’s iron grip, his lungs were screaming.

“Are you doubting  _ me _ ? Know your place!”

With a few more clicks, the Chitauri soldiers departed.

Loki released him and Tony fell to the ground, gasping for air and cradling his throat. He tried to speak but no sound came out of his bruised vocal cords.

Kneeling down, Loki grinned at him. “You were very convincing. I love working with professionals.”

Glaring at him, Tony took unsteady breathes, his throat throbbing with each gulp. He tried to speak again but to no avail.

Loki’s grin slipped and I seemed to catch himself in enjoying Tony’s discomfort. “Ah, I see.” Loki placed three fingers on Tony’s throat. “Here.”

The pain receded swiftly and as Tony felt himself able to speak again he croaked out words. “Your hair was  _ so  _ bad, man.” He laughed weakly as Loki drew back, obviously offended out of his sympathy.

“Ugh! I’m not healing the rest of that, you can deal with those external bruises for the next week.” Loki dropped the glamor, returning to the norm. He tugged at a strand of hair, frowning.

Rising unsteadily to his feet, Tony massaged his throat. “If we get back I’ll be the tabloids best friend. As if I wasn’t already.” Tony took to defusing both his own fears and Loki’s uncertainty the best way he knew how.

A Chitauri craft exploded into the building above them, sending bricks raining down upon them, which Loki deflected with a quickly summoned shield. “We must get moving.” He flicked his wrist and the two of them took on civilian glamours.

Chitauri chariots flew overhead as they dove deeper into the containment zone, at one point Tony saw Natasha flying low on one of them. As he watched, still running alongside Loki, she rose high into the air. A second chariot pursued her, manned by a horned figure. Moments later it exploded and Tony turned to see Loki stutter in step, grimacing. “You good?” Tony came to a stop as Loki slowed his pace.

“There seems to be some transfer of pain between bodies. I first experienced it a while ago but I could not be sure.” Loki paused, glancing darkly up at Stark Tower. “It is about to get more unpleasant so if you would bear with me.”

Tony looked up to his tower in time to see the Hulk leaping towards it. Turning back he watched Loki shudder, knees buckling slightly. For a few moments the god stayed that way, bracing himself against a half destroyed car.

As Tony watched, he identified the dull ache in his head that had to be related to what his past self fighting against. He sucked in a breath, this battle ended one way and it was not an easy one. He glanced nervously up at the portal in the sky. “Hey, what d’you think would happen if you… die for a minute in the past?”

Gritting his teeth, Loki squinted at him. “What are you rambling about?” 

Tony could tell the god was barely listening to him, as Loki doubled over, barely standing. But he needed to know how much time they had. “I… die for a few seconds. I nuked the ship and-” Tony gulped in a breath, it wasn’t something he liked to think about. “And my heart stopped, just for a few seconds.” He could feel his pulse picking up and took a moment to steady himself, staring at Loki.

The god watched him, face unreadable. “Did you really? Huh… and here I thought I couldn’t even kill one of you.” Seeming to overcome whatever he was feeling, Loki stood. “What we experience is lessened from what actually happened, it seems. It will not feel  _ nice _ , but I doubt you’re heart would stop.”

Not reassured, Tony nevertheless nodded. “Let’s just get out of here before that goes down.” A Leviathan passed over their heads, casting its shadow across the entire street.

More and more Chitauri poured from the portal high above their heads as their trek grew more urgent. At least twice they had to duck into buildings to avoid being seen by any of the Avengers, who surely would have insisted that they head for safety, unaware of who they spoke to.

They made it to the museum with, what Tony guessed to be, minutes to spare before his past self went into the portal. The streets around the museum were filled with masonry and wrecked cars, overturned, smashed, anywhere in between. It looked like the warzone it was. The story was the same in front of the museum; it looked like a Chitauri chariot had crashed into the building, crumbling stone and metal into a blockade in front of the entrance.

Tony glared at it, furious. “No. Nope.” He spotted the remains of one Chitauri pilot and rushed over to it, pulling its gun from its arm. Ripping the metal weapon open, Tony rooted around with its wiring.

Still standing near the entrance, Loki raised his hands. “I can move  _ some  _ of the debris, not all. But it won’t leave me-”

“Move.” Tony hoisted the gun up, propping it on his knee and aiming it at the rubble, one hand still in the innards of the weapon.

Looking alarmed, Loki stepped to the side. “Are you sure you can-”

Kickstarting the blast, Tony recoiled sharply as the gun nearly tore his arm from its socket. The blast shot past Loki, blowing his hair back, and exploded onto the rubble, sending it flying and clearing the way. “I built weapons for twenty years. Just because a gun is from  _ space  _ doesn’t mean I can’t make it work.”

Loki stared at him. “I’m impressed.”

Massaging his shoulder, Tony discarded the weapon. “C’mon.”

Inside, the building was in less a state of disrepair, though many of the cases were knocked over, likely by the explosion that had covered the entrance. The emergency lights flickered, casting everything in a harsh red hue. Even from inside they could hear the city wail with sirens and the odd explosion.

Tony’s head throbbed, no doubt due to the abuse his past self was taking at the hands of the Chitauri. Time was of the essence. “Where is it?!”

“You’re sure it  _ is  _ here?”

“It has to be.”

“Mmm…”

Very suddenly, Tony’s breath caught in his chest and his vision went hazy. He reached for support and found Loki at his side in an instant. Clinging desperately to the god, Tony’s vision faded further and his breathing grew shallow. 

“It will pass, Anthony. Worry not, I am here.” Loki’s voice was soft.

Surely his heart had stopped, that was what his mind told him. He was dying. And yet, he could feel it beating practically out of his chest, very much alive, very much afraid. He tightened his grip on Loki who continued to murmur in his ear; the pressure a reminder that what he felt was nothing more than a memory. Tony felt himself shaking, his skin clammy, though the stuffy air inside the museum was as hot as the summer day outside.

And as quickly as it had come on, the feeling disappeared. He could see again, breathe. He stood, releasing Loki, who did not step away. Putting his head in his hands, Tony grit his teeth and tried to calm his thudding heart. “I’m good. Gimme a sec.”

Loki hummed, moving away and further into the museum, leaving him alone.

Staring absently at the wall, Tony traced the outline of the Arc Reactor in his chest. He could still feel himself shaking, turning his breathing into a rattle. Muttering to himself, he took a few hesitant steps. “It’s over, it's done.” His body still ached but Tony could feel his heartbeat slowing.

“It’s here!” Loki’s voice from the other room drew Tony’s attention and forced him into movement. The sound of shattering glass followed moments later. Tony entered the room to see Loki holding the identical tablets in either hand. There was a low ringing in the air. “They’re reacting magnetically; they very much  _ want  _ to connect.”

“No time like the present… or past. Let ‘em at it.”

Nodding, Loki dropped one of the tablets. It fell for a second before redirecting and shooting towards its twin. There was a flash of golden light and an earsplitting ring as the two connected. Tony turned away, squinting, hands jumping to cover his ears as phenomenon persisted. The light and sound lasted for a solid minute before fading away.

Lowering his hands, Tony cautiously looked back. The twin tablets hovered mere inches apart in Loki’s left hand, emitting a soft golden glow no where near the intensity of the original blast. “We’re not dead.” 

“Astute observation.” Loki smirked slightly. Gingerly, he held out the tablets for Tony to see. The previously inert rings of text encircling them now rotated on an axis, lending them the illusion of depth. Loki waved his free hand in between the tablets and gasped. A small moving image appeared in the space, golden and holographic in nature. “Ah, now it’s cooperating with us.”

Tony peered at the image, a horned figure sat upon a golden throne. “It’s showing the memories now? But how’s that supposed to help us if we still can’t get to present day?”

Fiddling with the tablets, Loki didn’t answer. He spun the image in his hands, and watched as it changed to another.

“Loki?”

Looking up, Loki locked eyes with him for a moment and seemed to remember himself. “Yes, right…” He paused, thoughtfully. “What are the odds that the team has the current version of this tablet?”

“Pretty high, I’d wager; they’re not idiots.”

Loki nodded. “Can you see  _ my memory _ that it shows, or just your own.”

“Yours.”

Running a hand through his hair, Loki nodded again. “Interesting… Then could it be possible to…” He trailed off, returning to spinning the tablet. “Show me who else holds this object.”

The runes shifted and the image displayed shifted to static for a short moment before fading back in as Loki moved his hand over a new set of words. Squinting, Tony was able to make out Steve, standing with his shield an unpainted silver. “Holy shit.”

Loki grinned. “Seconded.” He moved his hand to the center and pressed down upon it. The spinning runes slowly came to a stop and the tablets jumped from Loki’s hand, pushing upwards. The image expanded with the tablets until the hologram stood at full size. It depicted Steve, holding the tablet in both hands, speaking to someone unseen.

Loki’s eyes glinted in the golden light and Tony recognized the grimness in his features that indicated he’d come up with something.

Taking initiative, Tony voiced his own concerns. “We can’t just leave them both here.”

“Aye.” Loki reached for the top tablet but drew his hand back after the golden energy sparked to his fingertips. “I have an idea.”

“So do I.”

Curiously, Loki looked to him. “Do share.”

Tony shrugged. “We break one of them as we go through.”

Loki raised an eyebrow. “Interesting solution. Not quite what I had in mind but I like it.”

Glaring at the tablets, Tony nodded. “Wish I could break all of them. They’re way too dangerous to keep around. But Fury’d have our heads and as much as I love annoying him I’m pretty sure we’re in enough shit as is.”

Loki didn’t respond but gestured at the hologram.

“I am  _ so  _ ready for this.” Tony took a step forward and held out an arm for Loki. “C’mon, Tinman, we’ve got a yellow brick road to catch.” He felt giddy.

Loki took his arm but stared at him blankly. “I have no idea what that is supposed to mean.”

Tony grinned and stepped into the hologram. His vision began to turn golden and the last thing he saw was Loki reaching upwards. He heard a roar like a train, followed directly by a sharp snap. And everything turned gold.

 


	6. Final

“Look, Director, all I’m asking for is a little more time. This thing-” Steve gestured to the tablet. “- has the answer we just haven’t found out how to get it yet.”

Fury looked skeptical. “Do you have anything to base that on or are we operating on faith here? Because, in my experience, faith doesn’t-”

There was a “ _ whoosh _ ” as if all the air was being sucked from the room and a bolt of golden light, which interrupted Fury’s words. Steve ducked, instinctively, behind a desk.

“He _ llo _ , present day!” Tony’s voice sounded first after the sound stopped.

Shooting up, Steve saw Tony and Loki standing where he and Fury had just been arguing. Leaping over the table he had sheltered behind, Steve approached the pair. “Took you long enough!” Was all he could think of to say. He met Fury’s gaze for a moment and smirked, more than a little smug.

Loki piped up, Steve saw how his gaze lingered on the tablet. “How long has it been?”

“Almost a week.” Shifting his hold on the tablet, Steve put himself between it and Loki.

Noticing his move, Loki clicked his tongue but said nothing.

Tony continued to speak, relief plain in his voice. “Ugh, felt every second of that.” Spotting suspiciously finger shaped bruises around Tony’s neck, Steve tuned out, wondering how they got there. Though he didn’t want to think  _ too  _ hard about it. He had a few ideas and didn’t like any of them. Tony snapped in his face, bringing him back. “Earth to Rogers, did you hear what I said?”

Before he could speak, Fury stepped in. “We don’t have time to get sappy, any of you. I need an explanation of exactly what went down and exactly how that thing works. I need to know what precautions to put around it to ensure it doesn’t get used again.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Steve saw Loki twitch, but the god’s voice was smooth. “Of course you do.” Loki motioned towards the tablet. “Shall we?”

Obviously as surprised as Steve at Loki’s cooperativeness, and twice as suspicious, Fury frowned at him. “Not like this. I need a higher security detail.”

Loki did not protest.

This, clearly, did not please Fury. “Last time you didn’t argue with me, you took down my favorite Helicarrier.”

The corners of Loki’s mouth twitched up. “I simply believe you are correct in your desire to contain this relic. Is there any crime in that?”

Fury grumbled but had no response. He swept from the room, pointing at Steve. “You, watch them. I’ll be back.”

As soon as Fury returned, followed by four S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel who stood at the door, hands on their guns, he began to question Loki and Tony. The pair seemed to have nonverbally decided to let Loki do the talking.

Steve had to wonder when they’d gotten that in synch with each other.

“What sets it off?” Fury now held the tablet.

“Magic. Ask me more strenuous questions, Director. You’re boring me.”

“Why did you use it in the first place?”

“That insinuates that I meant to. I appreciate the given credit.”

Fury scowled. “Can you activate it without using it to jump times?”

Loki stood in one fluid motion. “Certainly, merely set it down so I can show you.” His voice was diplomatic.

The scowl on Fury’s face deepened. “No.”

Sighing with annoyance, Loki stared Fury down. “Unless you wish to be thrust into the past,  _ set it down _ .”

Clearly still displeased, Fury slowly lowered the tablet to the table. “You try anything-” 

“I am well aware of your passion for threatening me.”

“... Alright then, bigshot, let’s see it.”

Loki’s hand hovered just over the tablet, curling claw-like. As the room watched, the runes across its surface began to glow sickly green. A low hum filled the air. Steve felt his ears pop as the pressure rose. The green glow strengthened and began to spread from the runes across the surface in thin cracks. Steve saw Tony move close to Loki and mutter something in his ear. Loki shook his head ever so slightly. The pressure continued to increase until Loki finally snapped his fingers. The glass window behind Steve shattered as the green energy emanating from the tablet ripped it apart with a high, clear, note. Loki slumped over slightly.

Shocked into inaction, Steve watched as Fury and the rest of the S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel in the room drew their weapons on Loki. “Hands up.”

“There’s no need for that. I did you a favor.” Loki smiled like a cat despite the guns trained on him. 

Fury approached him slowly, not lowering his pistol from Loki’s face. “ _ Hands up! _ ”

Loki did nothing. “I just saved you from making a costly mistake. That thing couldn’t be contained, not within  _ S.H.I.E.L.D. _ ” He practically spat the word. “You cannot handle my scepter, you cannot even  _ find  _ that it was used to harm me, which it  _ was  _ no matter how deep in denial you are. What makes you think that you could truly have contained that artifact? It would end up in whoever’s hands the scepter did for even just a short time and it would be your fault and your fault alone when time itself came unraveled. There is only so much I am willing to stand by and let happen. As much disdain I have for you, I will not let you do that.” His eyes burned bright. “It is gone. There is nothing you can do to get it back.”

The two stared each other down. Fury muttered darkly. “You were given explicit orders. And still you disobeyed them. That can’t fly.”

“You sound like the Allfather. That’s disappointing. I thought you a man willing to do what he must to reach his goals. Is that not so?” The pressure of the situation seemed to have lapsed Loki into his old performing elegance. Loki clasp his hands behind his back, tilting back and forth of his heels. By the his growing smirk, Steve knew Loki enjoyed the tension. “You may live in denial, Director, but you and I are not so different. It is merely a matter of perspective.”

“Your perspective is skewed.”

Loki arched an eyebrow. “You wish to burn this bridge, now, over this; something that may be my first wholly selfless act in a  _ very  _ long time?” He laughed disbelievingly and held his hands out. “Be my guest. Cage me, I won’t resist; not yet, anyway.” As Loki began to pace, guns still trained on him, Steve glanced to Tony, who was stone faced, eyes dark. “But make no mistake, whatever you conceive for me will not hold me forever. And when I do slip my shackles my quarrel will not be with them.” Loki pointed to Steve and Tony. “It will be with  _ you _ . You and your organization. I don’t need  _ theatrics  _ to take down a government establishment like yourself, your downfall will be bombastic enough. I will find enough joy in watching you witness the destruction of everything you have worked so hard for,  _ your legacy _ , I can and will burn it to the ground.” He looked to the ceiling. “I hope you got that on your recordings. Because I mean every  _ word of it _ and should you ever forget where I stand with S.H.I.E.LD., just take a listen.” The room went deathly silent as Loki clasp his hands together.

Fury stared the god down, face unreadable.

Smiling wide, Loki dropped his outward hostility. “Or you can understand that I destroyed that thing for your benefit. And we can go back to joyfully ignoring each other as you let me return to Stark’s tower, surrounded by some of the only people in this realm that truly pose a threat to me. Your choice.”

Fury lowered his gun, motioning for the rest of the S.H.I.E.L.D. guards to do the same. “Doesn’t sound like you think I have much of a choice.”

“Oh, you very much do. Simply because there’s a right choice does not mean you cannot make the wrong one.”

Holstering his pistol, Fury shook his head. “We’re done here. Get out of my sight. I have to go explain to the World Security Council why I let the world’s greenest megalomaniac walk,  _ again _ .” 

 

**00000**

 

Tony dropped down on the couch opposite Clint and Natasha. It had been a week since they had returned, he had survived Pepper’s two hour long phone lecture and had begun to process the minutiae of everything that had happened. The fact that Loki had nonchalantly told Tony he had the possibility to use magic chief among his favorite facts and one he reveled in sharing. “Hey, Loki!” He looked over to the god, who sat cross legged in an armchair, face buried in a book.

Glancing over the top of his book, Loki glared at him. “If you ask me to train you  _ again,  _ I will so thoroughly dismantle Jarvis it will take you weeks to reprogram him.”

“Leave him out of this. All I’m saying is, one bad ex shouldn’t ruin the fun for me. Think of how much more useful I’d be. And I know magic is  _ your thing _ , or whatever, but really-”

“You’re right, it is  _ “my thing.”  _ Drop it, Tony. I am not teaching you and neither will anybody on Midgard.”

Tony sat up straight. “There are people on Earth who could?”

“Forget it. They’re a bunch of amateurs, not worth the time it’d take for you to find them.” Loki lowered his book. “They wouldn’t take you anyway. Your temperament would no doubt clash with their image. As would your love of the public eye.”

The rest of the room seemed to have taken attention of their conversation, Natasha had paused the movie she and Clint were watching. “Why is this the first I’ve heard of these guys?”

Loki smirked. “Because they don’t want you to know? Same way you thought Thor and I were old myths not too long ago. Isn’t that right, brother?” Craning his neck, he glanced back at Thor, who smiled up from his laptop.

“Aye. They’re not much for brawling, like to do their dealing behind the scenes.”

Sounding annoyed, Clint spoke up. “Couldn’t we have, I don’t know, used their help with that tablet?”

Both Thor and Loki laughed but the latter replied. “They would have rather confiscated it and placed it among their vast array of artifacts gathering dust then helped  _ me _ .”

Tony smirked. “Sounds like you’ve got some beef with ‘em.”

“You could put it that way.”

“Do you like  _ anyone  _ who uses magic, other than yourself?” Tony added a dose of fake sincerity to his voice. “Is that why you don’t want to train me?”

Rolling his eyes, Loki went back to his book. “You’re hateable without help from the arcane, Stark.”

“Awh… thanks, means alot coming from you.” Tony waved a dismissive hand. “I’ll just figure it out on my own, then.”

Looking smug, Loki laughed slightly. “As hyper intelligent as you are, I doubt you will find success in that venture. It takes more than reading a few books and waving your hands it’s… entirely reinventing the way you think. Without proper guidance you could attempt it for a thousand years and be to closer to your goal.” Loki’s laughter died away. “And you do not have that kind of time. Dedicate yourself to what you know, Tony. Your years will be better spend there.”

“The more someone tells me not to do something, the more it makes me want to do that thing.” Tony heard Natasha groan at his words, obviously exasperated.

Loki however, smiled, face mostly covered by his book. “Your dedication to stubborn pettiness is admirable. Dare I say, even marginally endearing.”

Tony’s smirk turned into an open mouthed grin. “Jarvis, did you get that? Loki said something nice; save it for blackmail.” He lapsed into a silence that lasted for a good while.

It wasn’t until Steve came to sit down with them that it was broken. He spoke to no one in particular, though Tony could tell his words were meant for Loki. “I didn’t you still had it in you.”

Scoffing, Loki spoke up. “What I said to Fury? Did it make you nervous?”

“No.” Steve said, nervously.

“... You are uniquely terrible at lying, Rogers; did you know that? But, I have an image to uphold with Fury, a very carefully cultivated one. Do I need to work harder on it? I can threaten you too, if you’d like?”

Laughing nervously, Steve shook his head. “Y’know, I think I’m good. Maybe try Natasha, she might take you up on that.”

Glancing up, with a smirk, Natasha shrugged. “Trading threats with the God of Mischief? Sounds like an ideal Friday night.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I did change the title, if you remember the old one. Next starts the two parter fics, by far the longest of the bunch. There's a lot to fix there but a lot that I'm excited about as well. Would love to hear comments.

**Author's Note:**

> If the MCU won't mention Loki's genderfluidity then by god I will.


End file.
